About Authors

Stephanni, as a relatively new widow and Mark (Me) who had invested deeply into living in the friend zone, initially met online prior to a Widow Widower (WW) conference in St. George UT. I reached out via FB messenger and Stephanni responded quickly (‘wink’ ‘wink’). From that time forward we chatted frequently and were often amazed at our similar life philosophies. Thirty days after our inaugural conversation I traveled to St. George to attend the WW conference.

We first met in person when we arranged for an adventure early one Friday morning in January 2020. Totally oblivious that Stephanni didn’t love early mornings but for some unknown reason agreed to our rendezvous, I picked her up 45 minutes before sunrise to watch, experience and to take pictures of a desert sunrise. I chose the activity while Stephanni was responsible to choose the location. She selected the perfect place for a desert sunrise. Our pictures of that excursion are exquisite. I noticed from the moment we began to drive away from her home it felt more like a reunion rather than an introduction or a get to know you encounter. We were remarkably comfortable, immediately. We quickly began to finish each other’s sentences by using the same words simultaneously. As that continued to occur, we looked at each other with a ‘how does this keep happening look.’

From the very beginning of our first telephone call 30 days earlier, we had established a remarkable comfort: We discovered an amazing camaraderie and a curiously parallel thought process. Our life experiences had led us to similar observations and sometimes even the same conclusion. It became a little eerie. Wooo wooo kind of stuff. We traversed from introduction to being friends in a little less than an hour on the phone. After the WW conference I arranged a trip back to St. George for a visit. My turn for the (‘wink’ ‘wink’). We rapidly transitioned into Best Friends by mid-February 2020. Our forever commitment to each other occurred shortly after that.

Stephanni is a remarkable soul; We feel incredibly fortunate to have been led to each other by what appears to be Divine Influence. It would not be right to say that I tricked her into falling in love with me, that just wouldn’t be true. She is 100% aware of the authentic Mark and adores me despite my imperfections. Investing time with each other is an absolute treasure. We enjoy every minute we get to be together.

To say that I love Stephanni despite of her imperfections would be incorrect, I’m sincerely not aware of any. Stephanni is very important to me; I am anxious to share the details of my world with her. We talk for hours every day, laughing often and enjoying our time together even if it’s only by telephone or video calling.

Early into becoming suddenly single, I realized that to find someone who would fit into my realm and like it, would be like looking for a Unicorn. I rapidly decided that I was not interested in going Unicorn hunting. Yet in some remarkable way our paths crossed, and we are now traveling down the same road together.

Stephanni and I are an amazing and lovely amalgamation of adventure, intensity, gratitude, fidelity, curiosity, intellect, humor, energy, kindness, generosity, loyalty etc. She is my #one priority, and I am hers. We subscribe to the understanding that our relationship takes precedence. An investment into Stephanni’s comfort or happiness is a deposit into our relationship, her comfort or happiness has a healthy impact on me. And vice versa. Conversely any time we say or do something hurtful or disparaging to one, the hurt will impact both of us because the relationship will be damaged. Relationship first and foremost, always.

Stephanni and I are a team and desire what is best for our relationship. We have learned that some things matter, most things don’t. Love, honesty and kindness matter, a lot. I feel humbled to be part of the Stephanni and Mark Extravaganza. It’s kinda like a forever party of goodness and joy. Really, it’s true.